Samsung Galaxy Tab to ship for holidays on four US carriers

Samsung has just announced that four US carriers will offer the Samsung Galaxy Tab, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

A direct competitor to the iPad, the seven-inch tablet will be shipping in time for the holiday season. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab will run Android 2.2 and will weigh about half as much as an iPad. It will work on all four major U.S. wireless carriers: Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile.

The carriers expect to begin selling the tablet before Christmas. Samsung claims the Galaxy Tab will sell for between $200 and $300 depending on carrier subsidies, but none of the four have announced exact pricing yet. Unlike the iPad, Samsung does not plan to offer a Wi-Fi-only version of the Galaxy Tab.

The Galaxy Tab will have a 7-inch touch screen, dual cameras, and be powered by Google’s Android operating system. It sports a 3-megapixel camera on the back for HD-quality photos, and a 1.3-megapixel camera on the front for video chat.

The device will be optimized for entertainment and will have Flash enabled; something iPad users can only dream of.

Samsung estimates the Galaxy Tab will get 7 hours of video playback on a full battery. The Galaxy Tab will have full access to Android’s app store, including some programs designed specifically for the larger device.

For those who were shy of buying an iPad, the Galaxy Tab is a viable competitor. As we reported earlier today, Google says Android 2.2 isn’t designed for tablets, though the company is reportedly working on a version that plays nicely with bigger screens.